Buc Report: Baseball team prepares for weekend games against Ripon

April 18, 2013 at 10:49 pm

This weekend, the baseball team will play four Midwest Conferences games against Ripon College. The Bucs travel to Ripon Saturday (April 20) for two games, beginning at 1 p.m. Sunday, the Bucs play Ripon at home for another double-header, also starting at 1 p.m.

Coach Dave DeGeorge talks to the Terrarium about his team this year, notable games so far, and why people should come see a game, particularly this weekend.

Q: How has the season been going?

A:We have a very young and inexperienced team. We only have two returning position players who started for us last season. In addition, two of our starting four pitchers are freshman. We struggled during the first part of the season, but we have gained valuable experience and we remain confident we can be one of the top teams in the MWC. In fact, we just opened the conference season with a four-game sweep of Lawrence.

Q: What is your team like this year?

A:The strength of our team is the quality and depth of our pitching staff. We play four games every weekend in conference play, so having a deep pitching staff is critical to our success. Our players are fun to be around and have worked very hard to improve. Every day after practice, I feel uplifted by the joy and effort our guys bring to the team.

Q: Have you had any notable games this year?

A:As I mentioned, we just had a big four-game sweep of Lawrence to start our conference season. The most exciting game of the season was the third game. We were trailing 3-2 going into the ninth inning. Big hits by Andrew Edwards, Adrian Peil, Tyler Peacock, and Grant Henricksen, plus two great bunts by Will Mack and Sean Little allowed us to score five runs in the ninth and win the game 7-3. It was truly a great "team" victory. We played great defense; Dalton Deckert, Andrew Kane, and Henricksen all pitched very well; and we had several guys contribute with the bats.

Q: What’s not to miss this season?

A: I think we have a fun team to watch. We can pitch, and we have good team speed. This Sunday (April 21), we play Ripon at home in a 1 p.m. double-header. Our rivalry with Ripon is special, and this series will be huge in terms of the conference race.

Q: Why should people come to a baseball game if they haven’t before?

A:Our team plays hard and represents the college very well. It would be great to have as much support as possible. If someone has never been to a Beloit/Ripon baseball game they are in for a treat—both teams play the game the way it is supposed to be played, and it is always a battle.